Telephones are among the most commonly used devices for communication between individuals, both in business and for personal endeavors. The advent of cellular telephones has resulted in an explosion in growth for such systems. Often, however, calls are received at times and in situations either inconvenient or impossible for an immediate response by the recipient.
Several devices are available for addressing special situations. In particular, “voicemail” is available for those times when an individual is either using his telephone, is not available to answer, or chooses not to answer. In these cases, the caller is transferred to a system wherein he may leave a voice message which is recorded and stored for the recipient's later review and possible response. The recipient accesses those messages left for him typically by dialing a special number and then entering his telephone number and/or personal password.
Disruptions due to calls from telemarking companies have also become commonplace. The recipient of such calls often does not desire to receive or respond to them. One solution is to direct the caller to a pre-recorded message once the nature of the call has been identified. The time the recipient is directly involved with the call is then minimized, as he may hang up once he has directed the call to the pre-recorded message.
Telephone paging systems are also available. Pagers require that the caller first place a call to the recipient's paging system telephone number and then enter the telephone number to which the caller wishes the recipient to respond. The caller's telephone number is then displayed on the recipient's paging device for the recipient's immediate or later use. The recipient can be notified of the presence of a caller's telephone number on his pager by either an audio signal or by a silent means which is typically a vibration. Voice systems, as opposed to visual displays, are also available for conveying the caller's telephone number, but are more disruptive in group situations, as for example a meeting. Such systems, provide a means for call notification with minimal disruptions. However, they address only calls made to the recipient's pager, not calls made directly to the recipient's telephone.
Another method which can be used specifically with cellular telephones is to silence the ringer. When an incoming call is received, the recipient is notified of its existence via some silent means, as for example by a visual device such as a flashing light or by a vibrating device. The recipient can then move to a more convenient location to answer the call. However, in the process the recipient has been inconvenienced by the necessity to change locations and calls may be lost due to the time required for the transfer of locations.
None of these solutions, however, effectively addresses situations wherein the recipient wishes to establish some level of immediate communication with the caller without having to leave his present location and extricate himself from the situation in which he is involved. In particular, the recipient may receive an important call to which he wishes to respond while in a meeting. To answer the call and/or leave the meeting would result in an unnecessary disruption to either himself or to the other participates in the meeting. Thus, there is a need for an apparatus which would fulfill such needs.